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Sunday, 9 December 2012

Piri Piri Flat Iron Steak with Borlotti Beans

Steak and chip has to be in at least my top 5 favourite meals. Also in there would be curry, (I say "curry" as a general term because to pick just one would be an abject choice to make) and pizza.

When I was looking for a steak in the shop, I had the options of fillet (too expensive), ribeye (my favourite), sirloin (overrated) and flat iron steak. I chose the latter, not only because it was the least hurtful to my bank balance, but because I'd never had it before. And Oh My God was it good.

I like to cook my steaks very rare. This leaves them tender and juicy. I realise that it doesn't appeal to everyone, but I implore you: try have your steak a little less done than you usually would. If you like well done, go for medium. If you like medium, go for medium rare. And so on.

There are a few other key notes to bear in mind:

Cook the steak from room temperature. Cooking it straight from the fridge will "shock" the meat make it tough.

After cooking, allow the steak to rest for a few minutes. This allows the meat to relax which means it'll be more tender.

Before serving, slice the steak across the grain. It'll make it easier to eat and looks good for presentation. Check out this video.

Serves 1

2tsp Piri Piri spice mix (see below)

1 flat iron steak

1tbsp olive oil

1/2 tin of borlotti beans in water

For the Piri Piri spice mix:

1 1/2tbsp smoked paprika

1tbsp cumin seeds

1tbsp cardamon pods (about 20)

1tbsp garlic salt

1tbsp dried thyme

1tbsp ground ginger

1/2tbsp cayenne pepper

First make the Piri Piri spice mix by grinding all the spice ingredients together in a mill or pestle and mortar.

Coat the steak in the oil then rub the spice mix in and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the borlotti beans and their water into a small pan, season well with salt and pepper and gently heat through.

Heat a frying pan on a high heat then fry the steak on both sides for 1 minute 30 seconds on each side for very rare (longer if you don't want it as rare, but why wouldn't you?). Allow the steak to rest for 10 minutes before slicing it and serving atop of the beans.